California Adventure: Mammoth Lakes

Earlier this month we ventured out of our little LA "nest" for the first time and left the beach in the rearview, opting for a weekend in the mountains to celebrate B's 26th birthday!  Words can't truly describe how beautiful Mammoth Lakes and the entire Eastern Sierra mountain range are... even after a long 5-hour drive, we were stunned over and over with the beautiful scenery, fresh mountain air and cozy spots all over town to grab a bite to eat or relax.  We spent the better part of the day on Saturday hiking a few recommended trails in the mountains and they did not disappoint... fall colors, crystal clear mountain lakes and even some snow on the ground indulged every last bit of the "seasonality" we have been missing from the East Coast!  Between the outdoor adventures we completely indulged ourselves with chocolates and treats from the local chocolate shop, California wines and sitting in the hot tub to rest our sore muscles... just writing this makes me want to go back!

I think the pictures do a better job of showing the beauty of the area so hope you enjoy :)  All of our recommendations are at the bottom of the post for anyone who finds themselves in the Mammoth area!


Out of work early and hitting the road!

Mandatory Taco Bell stop...

Getting into the Sierras...

So happy to be back in one of his favorite places...

Serenity... was pretty hard to leave this place!

A delicious hole-in-the-wall dinner for our first night :)

Mammoth Lakes Village by night...

Getting ready to hit the trails...

Admiring the views heading up the trail...

Getting into some snow!

Probably laughing at my poor hiking skills :)

Getting higher... views for miles!

Almost to Crystal Lake!

Arrived at the lake... and oh so worth it!  Probably my favorite picture from the trip :)

In heaven...

Potential location for the Brown Family Campout 2014?  We think yes!

Back in town after a long day of hiking...

...then out to June Lake to catch some real fall colors!

Trout fishermen on the lake...

Couldn't get enough of the birch trees... reminds me of home!

We were obviously meant to hike this trail... found a K+B from '84, made our day :)

My favorite guy...

Leading the way back home for some wine, dinner and chocolates!

Our view driving home... we miss you already Mammoth!

Our Recommendations for the Mammoth Lakes / Village Area:

• Stay:  Westin Monache Resort 
• Eat:  Burgers Restaurant for dinner (Mammoth Lakes Village), Good Life Cafe for breakfast
• Hike:  Mammoth Lakes Basin Crystal Lake Trail, June Lake

Back on the grid...

I realized tonight that it's been forever since I've posted... Between my new job, visitors from Oregon, a broken arm and the start of business school, things have felt pretty day-to-day here.. We are kind of loving on the hectic-ness of it all because I think we realize that these crazy times only come around every so often with life's bigger transitions and so soaking up the unknown every day has definitely been a change of pace, but more of a breath of fresh air vs. stress city :)

We've been up to a lot that I've been wanting to share, but in my tired Tuesday state (for some reason Tuesdays  are much harder for me than Mondays...my only consolation is that it is the season premiere of "The Mindy Project" tonight, praise god) I'm going to do a massive photo journal with hopes of kicking myself back into the blogosphere and legitimate thought-sharing soon :)

Here goes, to photos and hoping I don't fall off the face of this blog again! 

Shout-out to my bestie doc friend Allie.. You made my night when we caught up and sent me this.. Always wonderful to be blessed with friends who know your heart and also share your values / dreams.. Sums up my feelings about this move to California pretty darn well :)

 

A new bike and one accident later, we got to know the LA health system a lot faster than we thought we would!

Sporting the sling on his first day of business school... 

Enjoying a quiet Sunday afternoon moment to myself.. Can't beat Ben & Jerry's "Phish Food"

Learning how to enjoy the "great outdoors" thanks to my Eagle Scout boyfriend...

Contemplating whether the 3 miles uphill in blazing heat was worth it...

Barrett says yes it was :)

Enjoying a visit up to Ventura to see the cousins 

Not a bad post-work walk...

Followed by food truck mania for dinner!

Putting in some effort on the porcelain throne and bathroom decor :)

Also taking on a dining room table makeover.. Before shot..

Putting in the work...

2 coats of paint later...

And we're all spruced up!  Now time for wall art...

Can't really beat living here... A surprise sunset after a cloudy evening...

Happy campers :)

Lately...

Things have been cruising along here in sunny (or not so sunny lately.. Summer seems to have forgotten LA a bit this year!) California and we've been enjoying a mix of family visits, exploring the town and continuing to pull our little apartment and life out here together.  It can definitely be a bit daunting to reach the point where you are settled and unpacked but then trying to work on making this place feel more like home.  We've been trying to pull together a "bucket list" for the fall of things we want to do, people we want to visit and new places we want to explore but the west has got so much going for it, it's hard to know where to start!

The past few weeks have been great wandering around our neighborhood, creatively coined "SaMo" (Santa Monica for short) by the locals and doing everything from hitting up the best sunset happy hours to eating at the local Caribbean chicken stand (Cha Cha Chicken... I would say that's the best name ever..) to taking one of the big incline hikes to get the 360-degree view of this beautiful town, coast and forest.  We've also had a blast catching up with family that we rarely got to see while living out East and in the rest of our free time have clearly been working on our California tans at the beach :)

It has been amazing to adjust to our surroundings in other totally unexpected ways as well, namely figuring out that people are just very simply happy and nice around here.  That may sound funny, but coming from 4 years in the Big Apple where it's more dog-eat-dog than love-for-all, we're still finding ourselves surprised when a stranger is nice to us or says hello while we're out on our evening walks.  It's probably been the most pleasant part of the adjustment out here and we're simply loving the beach culture and laid back lifestyle... Makes it pretty hard NOT to be happy and nice all the time!

It's a beautiful day at the beach so we are headed out to enjoy our Sunday but sharing a few pics from the last few weeks of life.. 

Day trip over to Hermosa Beach for brunch..

Our place starting to come a bit more together...

A visit up North to see the Brown clan...

Making time for a relaxing afternoon with our books at the beach...

We found out that Tuesdays are Food Truck night in the neighborhood.. One word: Amazing.

Dirt cakes legs... Would say that was a very successful hike!

Sunset picnic dinner at the beach.. Don't think I'll ever be sick of this view :)

And a bonus photo.. This was the cutest couple I saw at the movies who held hands the whole time... old love gets me every time :)